Pillows to plastic bottles

Countless everyday products originate from crude oil — from fleeces to antifreeze, computers to carpets. At Bukom Island, Singapore, crude oil arrives in giant tankers and is piped to shore for refining and processing, either at Bukom or nearby Jurong Island, into the raw material needed to manufacture plastics, textiles and many other products.

“We are part of an industry that makes modern life possible,” said Nguang-Yong Chiew, former General Manager of the Shell petrochemical plants on Jurong Island. “Our nearby refinery produces transport and heating fuels, as well as raw materials for processing into petrochemical building blocks — the starting point for hundreds of everyday materials.”

Overview of the SEPC sites:

Bukom refinery

The refinery on Bukom Island has been operating for over 50 years. Recent modifications allow it to process a wider range of crude oils into fuels and other products. Some of these products feed into the nearby processing plant to make petrochemicals. Other oil products end up as transport and heating fuels, lubricants and road surfaces.